Lucky Stripes! Always a classic

Stripes always a classic Black and white stripes are time tested from French royalty to punk rockers. Even Beetlejuice wore them well. Over the years I’ve been gifted stripes. We listened to Adam Ant cassette tapes in my Dodge Dart Swinger all night in the ‘80s when a friend gave me a chic box purse. It’s still kind of a culinary lunch kit. Another friend passed a Neiman Marcus travel bag I can’t bear to toss. Now I colleague gave me a durable plastic striped pencil case that is sure to outlive me. Readers, I’ll bet you have some patterns/colors that make you all sentimental. Share your memories with me.

Crunchy peas From TV’s “Ted Lasso” I learned “mushy peas” is a Northern England favorite. It’s not just for babies and seniors. It’s a nearly mandatory side for fish and chips in that region. Oregon is offering crunchy peas. Harvest Snaps is a lighter and healthier version of more traditional crisps. They look like green fries and I’ve crunched them with sandwiches for lunch on the go and even as an omelet side. Flavors beyond original include a touch of wasabi and Caesar. This bag does not over promise with phrases such as “deliciously baked crunch,” “fresh-picked goodness” and “light & creamy.” Huge green pea snack crisps are shown over a field of peas thriving in a mountainous region. Snaps are enlarged to show texture. It’s a lot of info on a bag to steer you to a lot of crunch inside. Strike! is different Designed for clean energy and backed by science, Strike! has a pleasant tropical – not chalky – taste. The 25 calories in this drink help to burn calories, increase strength and provide sustainable energy for peak performance, makers say. I’m not claiming I’ve been working that hard, but the Olympics brought out the dreams for us all. A little more working out will help us medal in good health. I like this drink and feel good about using it. It has: L-Citrulline: increases blood flow in the body, which improves endurance and reduces time to exhaustion. L-Theanine: provides clean energy that increases focus and concentration, leading to an optimal workout. Caffeine: decreases fatigue which reduces perception of effort. Rhodolia Rosea: improves aerobic exercise ability across the board by decreasing fatigue. L-Dopa: increases dopamine, which improves subjective well-being to help you push through longer. Rocky-Roo Once again, the Once Again racoon has tempted me with organic nut butters I can’t resist. New single serve options with sunflowers or almonds or peanuts come in little packets that make lunch easier and more fun. It’s also good for people who consider nut butters their weakness and can’t keep a spoon out of the jar. Portion control. New flavors in the line include a sweet maple almond butter and sunflower hemp butter. Rocky-Roo is the racoon. www.onceagainnutbutter.com Jarlsberg for us You know that law of attraction theory? Like attracts like? I got some Jarlsberg Cheese to share with my cheese-loving sister and it turns out she brought a big chunk of it all the way from Alabama to share with me. You don’t need to be able to pronounce charcuterie to love these boards of meat, cheese, etc. They’re everywhere and it’s fun to make your own. It’s a cool summer option with mildly-nutty and silky-smooth Jarlsberg® Cheese. We loved it for breakfast, snacks and afternoon appetizers. She didn’t take any home. The company has used a secret Norwegian recipe since 1056. Sure there are many warm ways to try it, but we simply enjoyed it in the quickest way possible. If you want a recipe, go to www.jarlsberg.com Back to Thousand Island Here’s what got me back on the Thousand Islands boat… Small swaps save calories, reads a wheel on the Walden Farms Italian Dressing label. Whatever they’ve swapped dresses my veggies in “culinary-inspired blends of herbs and spices” with a fat-free, sugar-free, dairy-free a gluten-free flavor with the calorie count reduced to 0. Go on… they have Thousand Island, too? That was my go-too as a kid and it is typically so rich I’ve avoided it. Now, I’m back on the islands. Raspberry Vinaigrette is a 0-calorie spark for when you want to add strawberries and almonds in there. Ranch? I’ve been drizzling this treat on to Taco Tuesday offerings that don’t even include greenery. If you need to inspire yourself or a loved-one to eat a salad, this line could do it. Find out more at www.waldenfarms.com Darragh Doiron is a Port Arthur area foodie with a new head shot by local photographer Jerome Cabeen. For your own, reach him at https://www.facebook.com/WINDOWWORLDPhotography/ Darragh is at darraghcastillo@icloud.com